Something Like a Time Lord
by Kex3
Summary: Before the Master died, he had one last trick up his sleeve. He wanted to change the future. More importantly, the Doctor's future. When the Doctor meets an unusual seven year old girl in present day America, their fates are forever changed. But is this for the good, or very, very bad? TenxOC, basically their adventures. Rated T for violence, complicated themes, an adult situation.
1. The Weirdo from the Flying Box

A/N: Hey there. This is my first Doctor Who Fanfiction. I hope you all like it, I did my best. And yes, this will be a continued story. This is NOT a one-shot. Doctor Who does not belong to me, it belongs to BBC. That is all.

(Also, on a side note, I send out special thanks to mycatsaninja47 and my friend Mabry for being so freaking amazing and inspiring me to take my newfound Dr. Who obsession to Fanfiction.)

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Chapter One: The Weirdo from the Flying Box

I was seven years old when I first met him. He called himself 'The Doctor'. Ridiculous. No first name, just the Doctor. But that never stopped me. Nothing stopped me when I was a crazy, determined, seven year old girl.

Everyone says I was a handful back then. I don't understand why. I was very independent and did everything myself. Maybe that's why. They didn't believe I could do what I tried. Sometimes I showed them, sometimes I didn't. But that's beside the point.

I met him for the first time when I was seven. My hair was ridiculous and short. (I'd found scissors and my hair was painfully long, so I just cut it off.) I was always running off by myself and getting into trouble. But one morning I got myself into something bigger, far more strange than usual. Not that anyone else would ever know the details of that day.

It was a cold September morning. My parents were fighting again and my little brother was sleeping like a rock. I went outside and ran off into the woods behind our home. It was my favorite place to go. Especially when the sun was coming up. The sun rays would filter through the leaves and make pretty patches of golden light on the dirt beneath my feet. Dirt and dust particles floated above my head in the morning air, dancing to an unheard song.

I loved natural light. There was something… unearthly about it. And when it came to the unearthly, I couldn't stay away.

I was dashing through the trees, taking in the sounds of twigs snapping and leaves pushing back under my body's momentum. Soon, I found myself looking at my favorite clearing. Tall grass surrounded the area. Sometimes, if I looked hard enough, I could spot flowers every once in a while.

I didn't dare step foot in the grass. I had an 'irrational' fear of snakes. They disturbed me. No arms, legs, slithering along the earth, hissing, biting, killing, eating… I shuddered. Somehow I felt safer sitting outside the field, even if I was only a few feet away. This way I had a good escape route. No worries about running into a large group of them. At least, I hoped so…

Squatting down, I made myself comfortable as I waited for the sun to rise over the tree tops and light up my personal world. My shiny, peaceful, nearly perfect world. _My world._ Letting out a content sigh, I waited patiently for my sunrise.

It didn't take long. Thirty minutes passed of amazing peace. So perfect after a long, sleepless night listening to parents scream at each other like enemies.

Finally, the sunlight appeared above the trees, glimmers of rays pouring down over my field. But that wasn't the only thing that appeared over the trees.

The silence was filled as a strange, pulsating sound broke through the quiet barrier. I covered my ears as something box-like and blue shot down over the trees. It half crashed half landed in the center of _my _field, crushing the harmless waving grass beneath it. I jumped to my feet and hid behind the nearest tree, looking ahead.

What was that box? What was it doing in my field? My world? My _home_. No one came into _my _home unannounced, unwelcomed. But, I couldn't deny I was interested in it. It was a big blue box… and it _flew _into my field. That wasn't possible… right? Yes, definitely right. Mom and Dad were always telling me that stuff was impossible. And yet there it was…

I squinted and tried to read the words on top. A… Police Box. What the heck was a police box? Wasn't it just 911 and you were good? Why would you need to go into a box to call for help?

The doors were opening. I scooted farther behind the tree but didn't avert my gaze. And then, something unexpected happened.

A man walked out. A funny looking man. I remembered my Mom telling a friend I had a high attention to detail. I guess that explained why I took in so much of his appearance.

He wore a light blue suit, a white undershirt, and a bright red tie. He wore a long brown overcoat that looked terrible over the suit. The man was looking around, his hands in his pants pockets, and was headed straight in my direction.

I didn't know what to do. He was a stranger. He came in a flying box, impossible, and entered my safe haven without my permission. I wouldn't stand for that. This was my world. My special place. I wanted him to leave. I wanted him to leave immediately.

I jumped out of my hiding place and stood in the clearing, half thinking about the snakes that could be headed for me. But I had more important things to think about. One thing at a time, I told myself.

"You! Weird guy!" I shouted. He noticed me immediately and stopped. What was he… observing me?

"Me?" He asked, pointing a finger at his chest. His voice sounded weird too. I'd heard something similar like it on TV. It sounded like a mix of English and Scottish. How I knew that, I had no idea. Wow I headed educational television.

"Yeah, you!" I replied. "What're you doing in my field?"

"This… This is your field?" He asked, looking from me to the surrounding area. He spun around in a circle then eyed me curiously.

"A bit young to be owning land property?" He said, moving closer to me.

Once he was close enough I took in his features. He had a slightly uneven nose. His eyes were dark brown and fixed on me. They looked determined, but a lot like my little brother's when he was up to something. Something good or bad, I had no idea. The guy's hair was weird. It was dark brown, stuck up in points and was just… different. There was no other way to describe it.

I looked down and my eyes widened slightly. Bright red, high top sneakers. Seriously? Everything about him was weird!

"Uh… I don't _own _it," I said seriously. He leaned back, waiting for me to explain.

"It's just _mine_. So I want you to leave!" He made a humming sound and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah, I see, I see." The weird guy said calmly. He looked at me again.

"Don't suppose you'd let me look around a bit, now would you?" He asked. He didn't wait for me to respond and he brushed right past me, moving out of the clearing and into the woods.

"There are some things that need to be looked into," He called over his shoulder. I stared at his retreating form. Quickly weighing my options in my head, I quickly hurried after him before I could lose him.

"Things to look into? Like what?" I asked, jumping over a log to catch up. He ducked under a branch but didn't stop.

"Shadows," The weird man said looking around as the morning light began to work its way down to the ground floor.

"Shadows? You want to look at shadows?" I asked. "What's so special about shadows?"

"Ah, everything you see! Shadows like to live in the woods. Especially dangerous shadows. They can kill ya' right on the spot! If you're not careful…"

The man stopped and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a funny looking stick.

"Shadows don't kill people," I said firmly, crossing my arms and trying not to look at the strange metal thing.

"Yes they do. It's just that no one lives to tell about it." I couldn't hold in my curiosity.

"What's that sticky thing?" I asked, leaning close and pointing at it as obviously as I could.

"Ah, this is a _Sonic Screwdriver_."

"A sonic what?" I replied as he pressed a button and pointed it at random spots of darkness.

"Sonic Screwdriver! I could explain it, but I think it'll be a bit… complicated." He moved forward and I followed him, trying to remember what complicated meant.

"You're voice is… complicated." I said. His lips twisted upward into a funny smile.

"Is it? Never thought about it," He replied, abruptly turning left and walking on.

"So… You'll check out these… shadow things, and then you'll leave?"

"If you really want me to, yeah." The man said. He stopped and pointed the sonic thing again.

"Good." I said. Feeling confident, I moved on ahead.

"So where are you going—" He grabbed me and pulled me back.

"Woow, careful girly. Just about walked into one." I looked up and noticed his eyes seemed darker, fiercer.

"What are you talking about weirdo? There's nothing there!" I exclaimed, waving at the empty air.

"Ah, no. You see those dust particles in the air?" The man asked. I squinted.

"Yeah. But that's just dust in the light. Those aren't shadows."

"You're right. But it's one of the ways you can tell they're around." He was speaking slowly as he let my arms go and pointing his screwdriver at the air. It beeped.

"Mm," He hummed again. "Not that high a reading."

The man turned and looked down at me. I suddenly felt like an ant compared to him he was so tall.

"You come out here often?" He asked, his voice casual and well-meaning.

"Uh, yeah. Nearly every morning."

"So you know your way around then?"

"Sure."

"Tell me where we are then." The man twirled the screwdriver in his fingers as he looked around curiously.

"Um…" I looked around as well.

"We're near the pond. There's more moss on the trees pointing toward the water, and there are some animal tracks that way." I pointed more to the left and he smiled like he was proud of me. I felt my heart swell with pride.

"Great job girly! Take me to the pond," He said, dropping his voice when he said 'the pond'. I smiled and grabbed his arm, dragging him along to my second favorite place. He kept his sonic thing out and pointed it ahead of us. It would beep every once in a while, but the weird man never stopped me.

"Here we are! _The pond_," I said, mimicking his funny voice. He smiled and walked around the little shoreline.

"Very nice, very nice," He said, waving the screwdriver around as I knelt down and played with the water. I liked the way it felt against my stiff hands. It was relaxing.

The beeping noise picked up again. The man tapped it against his hand and squatted down to sit on the backs of his feet. He pointed the device at the woods again. It beeped.

"Good thing it's morning…" He mumbled, tapping the screwdriver against his chin as he looked around.

"Why? What's so important about morning?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well the shadows live in the dark, you see. They can't really live in the light. It just wouldn't work."

"Everybody knows that," I said, rolling my eyes and turning back to the water.

"Well sure they do. It's basic human instinct. When it's light out what's there to be afraid of?"

"Are you saying I should be afraid of the dark?" I asked, turning my attention back to him as he stared at his weird device.

"No. Not at all. It's not that people are afraid of the dark. It's what's _in _the dark." The man said seriously as he stood up straight again, his eyes darting about like he was nervous about something.

"I'm not afraid." I said, standing up and drying my hands on my dark blue pajama pants.

"Some things…" He hesitated and shook his head.

"Some things what?" I asked, staring at him intently.

"It's nothing." He was rubbing the back of his neck again and was staring at the woods. I frowned. I wouldn't have that. When I wanted to know something, I got to know about it. Quickly.

Very silently, I leaned down and scooped up as much water as possible. Then, I threw it at him.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" He spun around, whipping out his screwdriver and pointing it at me.

"Water, weirdo. Now tell me, some things what?"

His hands slowly lowered and he frowned deeply. With water dripping from his hair and jacket, he gave a heavy sigh.

"Some things are worth being afraid of."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly. You're too young right now."

I shifted on my feet and looked around. That wasn't a fair answer. Getting older took too long. I wanted to be older immediately. Move out, get a job, and be as far away from my family as possible. Oh, and take my little brother with me…

"What's your name girly?"

"It's Katie. And stop calling me girly." I said, eyeing him seriously. "What's your name?"

"Well Katie, I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor of what?"

He changed the subject.

"You should stay away from this neck of the woods."

"NO!" I said a bit louder than I meant to. It startled him, but I didn't give him a chance to recover.

"Just because you show up in this magical flying box and have a fancy screwdriver and talk weird and look weird and say stuff about _shadows _doesn't give you a right to tell me not to come to _my home_."

The man called the Doctor frowned deeply. I crossed my arms, hoping it would make me look a lot tougher than I really felt.

"You're home." He echoed, his voice low and… almost sad. I nodded sharply, my lips tight in a firm line. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around in a slow circle.

"I see," He mumbled, finally fixing his eyes on me again.

"Can't you think of some better way? These Shadow things you were talking about. What exactly _do _they do? How can I avoid them? Can't you get me one of those screwdriver things?" He eyed me carefully.

"If you step through a Shadow, all that will be left of you is a skeleton. Your skin, hair, nails, eyes. All of it, gone." I tried not to shiver, but I couldn't help it. He noticed and I wished I hadn't. I didn't want this guy to think I was weak or something.

"Tell me how I can get around them." The Doctor stared.

"I'll do what you say! Just tell me how! I won't abandon this place just 'cause you say so." I spoke so firmly I surprised myself. He thought it over for several moments before opening his mouth to speak.

"Stay in the light."

With that, he turned around and headed back into the woods, using his screwdriver again. My eyes narrowed and I ran after him.

"That's all? Stay in the light? I was going to do that anyway! Can't you say anything else?"

"Yep! Alons-y!"

"What."

"Alons-y," The Doctor repeated himself. He stared at me for a few moments before his eyes widened. He smacked his forehead.

"Right! You're how old? Alons-y mean's let's go. It's French."

"Oh." I followed him through the woods until I realized he was headed the wrong way.

"Where are you going?"

"Where are you going?" He said back curiously. I gave him a dark look and took the lead.

"You're weird."

"I know," He said happily. "Isn't it fun?" I couldn't resist smiling as I moved away from where his screwdriver beeped.

"I have no idea."

"Oh come on, you don't think weird is fun? Not at all?"

"Maybe a little bit…" I could feel his smile in the back of my head. I rolled my eyes and soon we were at the clearing. His big blue box was still where he left it.

"What's that big box thing anyway? What's a police box?" I asked, looking up at him as he moved into the grass.

"Oh that? That's just a disguise," He said.

"A disguise?" I asked, not moving.

"Yeah. Like a distraction. Make people think something when it's another."

"Then what is it?" He smirked.

"I don't think your parents would approve."

"I don't care. They're too busy fighting to know I'm out here." His eyes looked sad.

"Oh, I see."

I shivered and changed the subject. "So what is it then? That box?"

"It's called a TARDIS. It's how I get around."

"Can I see it?"

"It's right there."

"I mean _inside,_ Doctor Weirdo!"

"Oooh. Sure. But just a quick look-see…" I smiled widely and carefully entered the tall grass, ignoring the only thing that actually terrified me in the world. He noticed my apprehension and moved toward me until we were walking side by side.

"Don't like tall grass do you?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at the woods.

"Um… Not really."

"I thought you said you weren't afraid of anything?"

"I said I wasn't afraid of no Shadows! There's a difference."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

We reached the big blue box and I ignored his last statement. I pulled on the door but it didn't open. The Doctor made a 'tsk' noise and he pulled a key out of his pocket.

"It's locked," He opened it up and stepped inside.

"Why would you lock a boring blue box…!" My jaw dropped. Inside was _definitely _not what I was expecting.

It was bigger on the inside! I stared up at it all as the doors closed behind me. The Doctor waltzed up the steps and stopped at the center… circular… thing… What did Dad call those things? Consoles?

A big blue tube filled with bright blue light moved up and down, disappearing from my sight it went up so high. The walls looked industrial and busy, but had a comforting 'welcome home' feel. The flooring was grated and see through. Hiding below the grates sat what looked like an engine.

I had no idea how long I stood there, taking everything in.

"She's a beauty, 'aint she!" The Doctor called finally, snapping me out of my trance.

"S-she… is bigger on the inside!"

"Yeah. Freaks a lot of people out," He said, biting the inside of his cheek and taking off his overcoat. He flung it randomly and I saw it fall onto a railing.

"It… it…"

"It's big," He said with a wide smile.

"It's AWESOME!" I exclaimed, rushing up to the console and looking at all the buttons.

"What does it do? It flies right? I saw you come in on it! It's so cool. Can you make it fly? Please?" The Doctor carefully ushered me away from the controls and shook his head.

"No, no, no. Just a peek, remember? Just a peek, we agreed."

"What? Why not? Does it not just fly?" My eyes widened as the realization hit me. If it could fly, what else could it do?

"It doesn't work like that," He said seriously. "Sure, it flies if it has to. But that's not the point. I was just letting you have a look."

"Why, what's it do?"

"Nothing you need to know. All you can know is that I use it to travel lots of different places. _Lots_ of different places... But there's no way I'm taking you with me." I felt my spirits drop straight down.

"Why? Why can't I come?" Suddenly I remembered my little brother at home. I wouldn't be able to leave without him. I crossed my arms uncomfortably.

"You're a human child. I can't take a child with me."

I nodded and looked down.

"But will you come back?" I asked.

"Yes. Someone has to manage those pesky Shadows," He winked and I smirked.

"When will you be back?" I asked, uncrossing my arms as he led me back to the front doors.

"Pretty soon I'd think. I mean the Shadows can spread, grow, really nasty. I'll be back to manage them. Don't want anything to happen to you or anything." He ruffled my short hair and opened the doors. I stepped outside into the grass and he leaned on the doorframe.

"I'll watch for you. I'll come out every day if I have to," I said with a determined stare.

"Nah, you don't have to do that," He said, amusement coating his voice. I shook my head.

"No, I will." He shook his head.

"Alright-y then. So long Katie."

"See ya Doctor Weirdo," I replied, feeling a pang in my chest as the doors closed. I stepped away as the box called the TARDIS slowly disappeared before my very eyes. I stared in amazement, wondering just who this person was and what that box really did. Suddenly, I remembered something he said.

_"You're a human child. I can't take a child with me." _

"Wait!" I yelled. "What do you mean a human child? Are you not human? Have you met aliens? Wait! Doctor guy!" But by the time I finished shouting, the TARDIS was gone.

I stared uncomprehendingly. It was gone. It was just… gone. What did he do? Was he really coming back? I… I….

I slowly stepped back and stared at the ground. The grass was completely crushed. A square of flat ground stared up at me where the big blue box once sat. My fists clenched.

There was no way I was going to let this slip. I was going to wait for him. I'd come back every day, just like I said. I ran back into the woods.

That weirdo Doctor… I'd show him. Even if I had to wait forever.

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A/N: Please review, it's extremely motivating and I love to hear what you guys think. See you around!

Kex3


	2. Time Changes, People Don't

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next installment of **Something Like a Time Lord**. I'd like to give a shout out to my friend Mabry, once again, for really getting me interested in Doctor Who. She's currently writing her own Doctor Who fic, with the 11th Doctor, called "The Doctor's Mouse". It's by mycatsaninja47. Please look it up and leave a review. It's super cute! (Also, just so you know, it's a cross-over between Sherlock and Doctor Who. However the only real cross-over is that the only main character from Sherlock in the story is Martha.) Please look at her stuff! And here's Chapter Two of my story. (Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything belonging to Doctor Who. I do not own Chitters either. Credits go to Mabry and a book she read.) :/

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**Chapter 2: Time Changes, People Don't**

_Several years later…_

My cell phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the caller I.D. even though I knew exactly who was calling. I pressed the side button and the phone went silent. Good. With a heavy sigh, I pulled on my warm jacket, picked up my bag, and stepped outside into the weather of late fall.

Winter was in the air. I could smell it, taste it. I could see it when I breathed. It was only late October and already I was ready for snow. Expecting it, actually.

I shoved my bare hands deep into the red coat's pockets and let my boots kick up the burnt orange leaves drifting along the pavement. Cars zoomed by the sidewalk. I watched some of them, observing the drivers and passengers. The bickering couples, the laughing kids in the backseats, the quiet still families. They were all so different. So unique. So alive. I always thought it was interesting how I could notice so many tiny little things about someone I'd never met, and they would never know I, as an individual, ever existed.

It's not something people think about. The existence of others. They know there are 6 billion people are on earth, they know there are millions of other human individuals they will never meet. But no one cares to think about how those other individuals are unique. That they have thoughts, feelings, that they can be going through the most terrible of circumstances and no one else will ever know, because no one cares to care about their neighbor. Not these days.

But I did. I thought about it all the time. I had too much time to think. Too much time to wonder about life, the point of everything. And with a childhood like mine, I supposed it was probably natural for me to think about such things as life in its grand scheme in the universe. But I didn't like to dwell on that too much. My childhood was not worth remembering.

However, there was only one thing worth remembering. That blue box. The impossible blue police box that was bigger on the inside. I thought I would see him again. That man, the Doctor. I so desperately longed to see him. My heart ached to know what happened to that weird person. I wasn't familiar with the terms of love, but sometimes I wondered if _that _is what it felt like. Sometimes my heart literally hurt I missed him so much. He promised he would come back. But I had never seen him again. He'd broken his promise. I nearly gave up on him too.

But something held me back from forgetting completely. A part of me still held on to the slightest of suspicions that he may come back after all. Just maybe…

"Hey, Katie!"

"Hey Mabry."

I had arrived at my workplace. It was a daycare. I was always good with children and babies. I knew how to make them stop crying, make them laugh. I had no idea how, but there was something inside me that just _knew _what to do. I didn't even think about it. I would just act on instinct and take care of any child who needed help. I couldn't help it.

My friend's name was Mabry Song. She was short and ginger. Freckles dotted her cheeks and her eyes were a brilliant auburn, always sparking with life and creativity. She liked playing with the toddlers. She was always coming up with fun games for them to play. But like I said, I mostly worked with the very young ones. The ones below the age of three.

"So how was your night?" Mabry asked as I took off my coat and hung it on the rack.

"Noisy, as usual. I can't figure out what my neighbors are up to. It sounds like they have pets or something. The noise isn't natural," I said as a child ran up to me with his arms outstretched.

"Teacher, teacher. Can you spin me, spin me please?" I offered the child a warm smile and rubbed his head.

"Just give me a second sweetie. Teacher is talking." He nodded and ran back to his friend and their toy cars.

"And it's that 'chitter' noise or whatever?" Mabry asked. I nodded and moved through the sunny yellow room. The floors were carpeted. I always hated the carpet. So terrible with children that drooled and spread germs everywhere. Wooden floors were so much easier to clean.

"Yeah. It goes 'chittachittachitta'," I said, mimicking the odd scratchy tone.

For at least a week my next door neighbors in the apartment complex I lived in had been making strange noises. It almost sounded like rats of some kind. The squeaks and scratchy noises bothered me. The sounds lasted all night. Whenever I tried to complain, the sounds would stop and completely disappear until the land lord stopped looking around. Everyone acted like I was crazy. As far as anyone else was concerned, there was no odd noise coming from apartment 9A. But I wasn't crazy. At least Mabry believed me.

"You could always call animal control?" Mabry offered.

"No. That would just make things worse," I sighed. "No one believes me. Besides, every time the land lord looks they disappear. As far as anyone's concerned the noise doesn't exist."

At that moment two of the boys broke into a fight. We rushed over and broke it up. They'd gotten into a fight over who had the big red truck with the extended ladder first. We decided that neither of them would have it for fifteen minutes. Then we'd decide what to do then. That also meant, we'd hide it and hope they forgot about it. Like they usually did.

"By the way, happy birthday," Mabry said once things had calmed down a bit. I smiled tiredly. It was my nineteenth birthday. It had been officially one year since I left home to live on my own. And it was the best year of my life compared to the eighteen years living off and on with my divorced parents. But my life was still too complicated for my liking. I was just waiting for my life to calm down a little bit.

The time passed slowly. As usual, I was busy carrying around little Terra who always cried if I set her down. She was also picky about her view, so I always had to make sure she was looking over my shoulder—her favorite position.

It was a little after one o' clock when the younger kids were taking their nap when I had a good break. Mabry sat with me at a table in the playroom. We took turns bringing lunch, and since it was my 19th birthday, Mabry said it was on her. I didn't have any argument.

"I think I'm going to start telling the kids one spin each, per day."

"Oh, but they love it when you spin them around!" Mabry exclaimed as she bit into her sub sandwich.

"I like it too. But it starts to get annoying and repetitive after a while." I said, nibbling on my own sandwich.

"I guess so. But the thing is, if you stop spinning them, guess who they'll start asking?" I smirked and pointed a free finger at her.

"What you did there, I saw it."

"Yeah, I bet you did. You see everything you know. Who can hide from you?"

I felt a pang in my chest as I was painfully reminded of the one person on earth I was still waiting on. The one person who wouldn't come back.

"_Chittachittachitta…" _I blinked and looked out the window.

"Did you hear that?" I asked. Mabry blinked at me.

"Hear what?"

"Just now, I heard it. The sound from my apartment." Her thin dark eyebrows narrowed at me.

"Really? Why would you hear it at work?"

"I don't know…"

We sat in intense silence, waiting for the scratchy noise to start again. Finally, Mabry sighed.

"I don't hear it."

"Me neither…"

We didn't discuss it again until after work. Honestly, we were so wrapped up in the kids there wasn't a lot of time to worry much about it. But it was still there, in the back of my mind. And the biggest thought on my mind, was what if Mabry wasn't able to hear it? What if she couldn't hear the chitter sound? Would she still support me? Would she still believe in me like she did now? I had no idea.

Once Terra, our last kid, was picked up, we put on our jackets and grabbed our bags.

"Any plans tonight?" Mabry asked. My mind, still wrapped up in the strange sounds, answered without a thought.

"Nope."

"Cool, we should head somewhere fun. A karaoke club? Maybe?"

"I'm really tired… I'd just like to go home and get some sleep." I replied honestly. Mabry frowned.

"Oh, okay then. What about the rat thing you keep hearing?"

"I don't know. I'll figure something out."

"I'll walk you home. I should check in on my brother. I haven't seen him for a week, and he lives near you."

"Sure."

We walked down the sidewalk toward the apartment complex. The streetlights flickered above our heads and I watched them with interest. Normally those lights shone brightly and constantly. If anything only one would flicker. Not all of them. Every once in awhile, one of the lights would go out completely for several seconds.

"The lights are all wonky," Mabry said, also noticing. "I don't remember it being like that."

"It's probably just a problem with the power source. You know they have those big generators or whatever. There might be a slight malfunction."

"You're probably right, as usual." Yep, leave it to me. Katie with all the answers…

I shivered and snuggled into my red coat. Dang it was cold…!

_"Chittachittachitta…" _I stopped suddenly under a streetlight and looked around.

"What is it?" Mabry asked, wiping some of her bright red hair out of her eyes.

"It's… that sound again."

"That chitter sound?" Mabry asked, looking around the dark streets. I did as well.

"_Chittachittachitta…" _

"There it is again!" I exclaimed, spinning around completely.

"I can't hear it, Katie. What's going on?" I bit the inside of my cheek. I hated that sound. That scratching sound, the squeaking sound. It felt like it was getting inside my head. Maybe something was wrong with me. Maybe I'd just been so stressed with moving out, getting a job, trying to run away from my past, that it was all catching up to me in a terrible, nightmarish form. This terrible sound. This terrifying sound…!

"_CHITTACHITTACHITTA!" _Mabry screamed as all the lights on the street exploded into a thousand sparks. The street was blanketed in darkness. I felt like I'd become stone. What was going on? What was this sound?

"K-Katie…?" I heard my friend whisper through the darkness.

"Yeah?" I whispered back softly.

"Why aren't there any cars…?"

That's when everything inside me screamed 'Code Red'. Something was very, very wrong. It was true. This was a busy street, always. At all times of the day and night, cars were always speeding through. Where were the cars?

"I… think I have a flashlight in my pocket…" I said. I fumbled through my pockets, trying to find the little flashlight that was a gift from my father. I had no idea why I kept it. Maybe I just thought it would be helpful. It was certainly helpful now, so I made a note to thank him someday. Someday far away.

I turned it on and shone it around. I saw Mabry's pale face in the bright, small light. Her freckles stood out like someone taking a sharpie marker to a ghost white paper sheet. I had a feeling I was paler than her.

"Let's go… quickly." I said. She nodded and I took her hand. We started moving down the street quickly. I shone the light around the pavement, watching for… anything.

"_Chittachittachitta…" _It was still there, in my head. I couldn't tell if I was actually hearing it anymore, or if it was some kind of sickness taking over me. Maybe I was going insane. Maybe this wasn't actually happening, and I was really at home asleep, like I so badly wanted to be.

"Can you hear it?" I said, my voice still coming out as a whisper.

"No… I can't hear anything. Just my heart beating."

"Same here. Just checking." I lied through my teeth. Yep, I was going crazy…

We rounded the bend. Just three blocks from my apartment.

"_CHITTA_." I froze in my tracks. That sound came from directly behind us.

"Did you hear that?" I hissed. I looked at Mabry, and felt my blood run cold. Her eyes said yes.

We slowly, cautiously turned around. I shone my flashlight at the ground.

"_CHITTACHITTACHITTACHITTACHIT TA!" _I'm not known for screaming. But I couldn't help myself. And neither could Mabry.

It was an enormous, fanged, clawed, _rat_. It had to be at least four feet tall, the size of one of the kids we watched in the daycare. Its eyes were crimson red, and its teeth were sharp like knives.

And it was not alone. It was in a pack. The mutant rats screeched their chant. We screamed and ran. We didn't have to think twice or say anything. We just knew that we had to get away. Get away _now_.

We ran the entire block. I could feel them at my heels, chasing us down. My breathing was heavy and labored. Suddenly all my extra clothes that helped keep me warm suddenly felt like obstacles. Big and heavy items that only slowed me down. It was all I could do not to stop and rip it all off. I had to keep moving, no matter what. My flashlight was clutched tightly in my hand. My fists were closed so tightly I could feel the strain on my knuckles. There was so much pressure I thought the bones would snap.

Just one more block to go. I could literally feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I almost deceived myself into thinking I could feel the earth moving beneath me, like I could feel the earth in orbit. But that wasn't possible, no matter how many times I thought I could tell…

I'd always been a fast runner. But all those sleepless nights were catching up with me. I was so tired. So, so tired… I lost my focus for one second. Exactly one second. But that was all it took.

My foot tripped over the back of my ankle. An inaudible scream left my lips as I fell to the ground. I could see my life flash before my eyes. I didn't think that was real, when people talk about it. But I could see it. The long nights, holding my little brother as my parents fought for hours. Those early mornings, running out into the forest and watching the sun rise. And I could see him. That weird man. That stupid faced moron, smiling like life was the greatest adventure ever, bouncing along and eyeing everything like there was something greater behind it. That stupid accent. What was it… Scottish English? Something like that. Oh, and his stupid weird hair. And how he left me behind…

I suddenly couldn't imagine anything worse than that moment. That moment, falling to the ground and knowing those _things _would get me. Nothing could have hurt more than knowing that I would die without ever seeing that man again. The only man in the world I actually wanted to see again.

My body hit the ground and I quickly rolled over. Three of the mutant rats swarmed over me. I didn't scream, cry, nothing like that. I just fought. I fought as hard as I could. I punched those things, I kicked. It was all survival instinct.

"_CHITTACHITTACHITTACHITTA!" _The things screeched so loudly I thought my ears were bleeding. I suddenly thought of Mabry. I could only hope she didn't look back, that she had no idea that I'd fallen. I hoped she was still running. That those things hadn't gotten to her like they had gotten to me. I hoped she would escape.

The terrible screeching… So I wasn't crazy. Not really. But I was in danger. I had to do something.

One of the rats bit my arm painfully. I couldn't do this. I needed help. I needed someone to help me. The words had left my mouth before I realized I could say them.

"PLEASE HELP!" I fought some more. The pain in my arm only served as extra adrenaline. I kicked the one on my leg hard, sending it off flying. By now I was sure I was distracting the entire pack. Mabry would definitely be gone by now.

"Get off her NOW!" A pulsating sound ripped through the air. I covered my ears and tried to protect myself from the awful noise. I could feel the creatures jumping off of me and scurrying away. I looked up as best as I could.

It took me several long seconds to figure out what the heck I was looking at. High top sneakers. My eyes traveled upward some more. A light blue suit… A white undershirt… a bright red tie… A long dark brown overcoat. And then his face. His stupid, sharp angular face. And his stupid dark brown eyes under his sticky-up dark brown hair.

"What're you on the ground for?" His annoying mixed accent called as he put his sonic screwdriver in his coat. "Get up already, this is no time to be lying around!" I suddenly couldn't imagine hating anyone more than I did right at that moment.

I jumped to my feet and before I knew what was happening I had slapped him across the face. He took a step back and rubbed his cheek, which was quickly turning red.

"What?! What was that for?!" He exclaimed.

"That, _Doctor_, was payback for making me _wait _for over a _decade_!" I hissed loudly. He blinked at me uncomprehendingly.

"What?" He said again, his voice slightly higher in pitch. I glared at him darkly, and then I hesitated. My eyes grew wide.

"You don't look a day older." He blinked again, his eyes narrowing as he observed me.

"The same clothes… face… Everything's exactly the same… Absolutely no difference." I looked up into his dark sparkling eyes. Dang, he was still taller than me. I was 5 foot 7 inches tall. How tall was this dork?

"Who are you." It sounded more like a statement, the way he put it.

"You don't remember me?" I asked. I couldn't believe it. Not a day passed that I didn't think about him. And the moron couldn't remember me at all. But then again…

I had changed. In appearance, at least. I was seven the last time we met. I was nineteen now. Asking him to remember me would be a lot.

"You're hurt!" His exclamation jolted me out of my reminiscing.

"What?" Now it was my turn to say stupid things.

"Those ol' things _bit _you! Proper bit you! I can't believe it!" He grabbed my arm and pushed up the sleeve. I winced as the pain finally started settling into my mind. The sight of blood filled everything I saw. My arm was a bleeding mess. It was good thing I didn't mind blood at all.

"Yeah, like they looked like they wanted to have tea with me instead. Those things were going to eat me!" I exclaimed angrily, trying to pull my arm away. His grip only tightened as he slipped on black rectangular glasses. Where he got them from, I didn't care enough to notice.

"This has to be treated. Quickly. Where do you live?"

"Where's Mabry?" I said instead. He blinked at me.

"Mabry—OH! The ginger girl? Yeah. I sort of met her. Nice girl. Real bubbly! I told her to go on ahead, that I'd get you. She didn't believe me, mind you. But after some doing I sort of convinced her."

"Sort of?" I asked, my vision feeling a bit dizzy.

"Sort of as in I told her I'd take you home. She's there, wherever you live. So come on, where do you live? It's not that hard a question."

"Oh…uh… a block away. If she's waiting you'll… see her." My knees gave way and he caught me.

"Get off," I said, trying to push him away. I didn't know what was happening to me. Why was my strength leaving me? Was it this injury? It couldn't possibly be that bad.

"No. You're losing blood too quickly. Come on, I'll get you back and treat you." He scooped me up in his arms and I weakly tried to slap him again. He just rolled his eyes.

"You're a pain, you know that?" He said unceremoniously.

"So are you stupid face."

"What?"

"You have a stupid face, moron. Get with the picture."

"No I heard you the first time. You're mean!"

"I'm blunt."

"Blunt and mean."

"Blunt and awesome."

"You should stop talking and save your energy." I smirked.

"I win." He glared at me sarcastically and I suddenly realized we'd stopped.

"Katie! Oh my gosh, Katie! Are you okay?" Suddenly, I could feel his eyes boring into me with a newfound passion. He recognized my name. I could see it in his eyes. The clocks turning, the connections forming. Amazing.

"Just a scratch. I've had worse," I said in a fake English accent and waved Mabry off. She opened the door to the apartment complex for us and the Doctor carried me inside. He hurried up the stairs and Mabry opened the final door, 10A, and shooed us inside.

The Doctor set me on the couch.

"Mabry, you've been here before right?" The Doctor asked as I tried to get into a sitting position. She nodded.

"Good. Get me some water, bandages, or just towels if there are any."

"Got it." Mabry ran off somewhere and the Doctor pushed me down. He pulled off my jacket and rolled up my shirt sleeves as far as they would go.

"You're Katie." He said in a low voice as Mabry rushed in with some water and towels before running off to look for bandages.

"So what?" I asked. He got one of the towels wet and dabbed at my arm. I hissed and tried to smack his hands away. He didn't move.

"Katie from the woods," He continued. I stared at him. He pressed against my arm more gently this time. I squirmed.

"…Well… You've grown up?" A silly smirk crossed his face as his eyes twinkled sadly.

"Obviously."

"How old are you now?"

"Nineteen today."

"Happy Birthday," He smiled gently. "Guess that's a bit late."

"Shut up!" I exclaimed as Mabry came in with the bandages. The Doctor stared at me and Mabry looked uncomfortable.

"I'll just… wait outside until you're done… Just… call me if you need anything."

She hurried out the door and into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

"What's the problem?" He asked like nothing was wrong.

"What's the _problem_?! You said you would be back soon to check up on those stupid freaking Shadows! You _never _came back. You broke your promise." He stared at me for a long moment before pulling out the bandages.

"I didn't break my promise," He muttered, starting to wrap up my arm.

"What…?"

"I came back later. It was a bit of a long shot and some bad coordinates, but I ended up back in that same field no more than six months later. You weren't there. I went about my business and left. There's nothing more to it." The Doctor pulled the gauze tight over my arm and I hissed again.

"You came back. Six months later." I echoed emotionlessly.

"Yes." He replied, standing up and pulling everything together.

"Got a laundry room or something? Might want to get the stains out of these towels. Be heck of a pain cleaning them up once they dry."

"Just throw them in the sink. I don't care." I muttered. He nodded and went looking for the kitchen, or bathroom. I really didn't pay attention to the direction he went.

My head was spinning. He actually did come back. But why did it have to be six months? Why did he have to wait till the exact month I wasn't there? The exact month no one was there.

I swung my legs back over the sofa's edge and looked at my arm. The binding was perfect, I could tell. That thing wouldn't be coming off unless someone tried really hard.

"Say, is this going to break off my blood circulation?" I called without a thought.

"Well, not exactly. It will reduce the blood flow enough so you won't bleed out. You need sugar." He came back holding a small bag of sugar and a spoon. His glasses were gone.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Found it in the cupboard."

"You want me to eat sugar straight?"

"I don't think they have gay sugar yet…"

"WHAT?!" He laughed and handed the bag and spoon off to me. I just stared in disbelief. I could feel a smile on my face, but I could not believe this guy. Just who the heck was he supposed to be? And why did he not look any different? As he laughed at his own stupid joke and sat down across from me, I contemplated just how I was going to deal with this guy. This guy who had not changed at all. While I felt like everything had changed.

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Hey guys! That's all I can write for now, but I really hope you guys liked Chapter 2! Please leave me a review. I know you guys like to just 'favorite story', 'follow story', or 'favorite author'. As awesome and amazing as that is, it's nothing compared to reviews, and hearing what you guys think. Seriously, reviews are candy. Please give me candy! Peace out, I'll update as soon as I can.


	3. A New Beginning

A/N: Okay, first off, I apologize for the REALLY long chapters. But I really didn't expect this one adventure to take so long. I couldn't help it. But this is the last chapter with the Chitters, and it's going to be a long chapter to do it.

Also, I just wanted you to know that this adventure is just so you can get to know the main character: Katie. It will help the rest of the story if you know who she is, how she reacts to situations and events that would leave most people stunned. It'll help the story if you know how her mind works. So that's that, and I hope you enjoy Chapter Three!

**~((~^*^~))~**

**Chapter Three: A New Beginning**

After that it took some time for me to start feeling normal again. Well, as normal as you can be after nearly getting eaten by an enormous rat and re-meeting the one person you never thought you'd see again.

The Doctor wandered around the room, tapping his sonic screwdriver and looking at everything with intense curiosity. Mabry had come back in and pulled out some sodas from the fridge. We sat on the sofa together, watching him. I'd changed earlier, out of my light blue bloodied shirt, and into a dark black, long-sleeved shirt. Every once in awhile I flexed my fingers on my injured arm while I wondered what the Doctor found so interesting.

I was mostly still in shock that I remembered everything from the day we first met. I still remembered the name of the Sonic Screwdriver; that blue box he called the TARDIS. I remembered everything he said to me. But what I was having the most trouble with, was that he had come back. I couldn't believe it. All those years, thinking he'd just abandoned me to never return.

A headache was coming on… I rubbed my forehead as the Doctor finally turned to us again.

"Mabry, was it?" The Doctor suddenly said, looking over from the window.

"Uh, yeah." Mabry replied, bobbing her head.

"Have either you or Katie heard or seen those Chitters before." I blinked at him.

"You called them Chitters." I said.

"Yeah?" He said, looking at me.

"Nothing, that's just what I was calling them…"

"Oh! You've read the book then?" His eyes lit up and he grinned.

"No, what book? I'm only calling them that because they make that weird 'chitta' sound."

The Doctor frowned and rubbed his ear.

"Oh. Nevermind."

"And yes," I said before he could continue. "We've heard them before."

"Only Katie, actually," Mabry said. "I never heard them until they were on top of us. Katie's heard them for weeks now, every night. Tell him Katie." They stared at me expectantly. I felt myself go stiff under the tension.

"I've heard them here. I tried to tell the land lord about them, but no one else heard them. Everyone thought I was crazy…"

"Where'd you hear them?" The Doctor said, completely ignoring the last part of my explanation. He moved over to stand in front of me.

"In the neighbor's place. I can't go in there." I nodded to the left wall and stood as he pointed the screwdriver at it.

"Well, that's just brilliant!" The Doctor said as it beeped. He pressed his ear to the wall and listened intently.

"How is that brilliant?" Mabry asked.

"If I can't get in there I can't _do _anything," I said.

"SH!" The Doctor said, holding a finger to his lips and pressing himself closer to the wall. He just shushed us.

I stood up and walked over to the wall. I pressed my ear to it as well.

"Brilliant, you were the only one to hear them," The Doctor explained briefly, his dark eyes staring intently at mine. It was like he was asking me some unspoken question. I listened. _"Chitta…chitta….chitta…" _I blinked.

"It sounds like… they're not doing anything. There's no movement. Are they dormant?" I asked softly. He nodded.

"Sleeping. They must have a nest over there. What time do you usually hear them, at night, I mean?" I thought for a moment.

"Ten p.m." I replied evenly. "I know because I always check my alarm clock."

"So we have about… thirty minutes." The Doctor mused.

"It can't be 9:30 already!" Mabry exclaimed, checking her watch.

"No, he's right. We got off work at six. We were walking for a while, the chitters slowed us down. The Doctor fixed me up and then we talked. A few hours could have easily passed." He stared at me for another moment before stepping away from the wall and picking up his dark brown overcoat, which he'd placed on the sofa earlier after treating my arm.

"Right then! I'll just go over and have myself a little peek," He said with a grin.

"You can't just go over there! You have to have permission!"

"If it makes you feel better I'll knock first." He waved then left my apartment.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, dashing after him, leaving a very bewildered Mabry behind us. The Doctor stood in front of the door marked 11A. I watched him in amazement as he knocked on the door twice.

"I can't believe you," I said, crossing my arms and wincing slightly at the pain in my arm.

"What?" He asked, his face completely innocent and ignorant. No, not ignorant… Childishly naïve. That was it.

"Those things mauled us in the street, and you're giving them a head's up? 'Hey mutant freaks! Just wanted to let you know we're breaking into your possible nest/hiding place!'" I mocked. The Doctor raised an eyebrow with a slight smile and pulled out his screwdriver. He pointed it at the lock and I heard it click.

"No reason to be impolite, though," He said with his stupid grin and stepped inside. I eyed the half open door curiously. It was dark in there.

"What's he doing?" Mabry's voice asked from behind me. I looked at her worried face and thought better than asking her to follow.

"We'll check this out. You wait, and if anything goes wrong, call the cops."

"We should have called the cops hours ago," Mabry said. I nodded and pushed open the door. It creaked.

"You're not actually going in there?" Mabry called softly. I looked back at her and smirked weakly.

"Better believe it," I said, hoping I sounded a little braver than I truly felt.

I didn't wait to hear a response. I stepped into the darkness and squinted. I could barely make out the shapes of… things. It had to be those things. The Chitters, or whatever we were calling them.

I reached out my hands and carefully felt around. I didn't want to accidentally kick one. I really didn't feel like facing off with them again.

"_Doctor_," I whispered. The door suddenly closed behind me, and I whirled around. If I thought it was dark before, it was a black hole now.

My teeth clenched together and I refused to make a sound. Not a single whimper or cry would escape my lips.

I decided to move forward again. I extended my hands once again and moved inch by inch. I carefully maneuvered around, watching the ground for tails or anything… moving. But nothing seemed to move. I could hear and see nothing. I wondered if I should whisper again. I really didn't want to. But my choices were limited, and the window of escaping closed with the door. I felt trapped.

"Doctor," I said softly, a little louder than last time. At first, nothing happened. Then I could hear something shuffle a few feet away. I looked over to where the sound came from, but I saw nothing. Nothing but the inky blackness that covered everything. Weren't there windows? Someone really didn't want light in here.

Something grabbed my hand. My body went stiff, but I didn't scream. I wasn't a screamer. And then I felt something in my mind. It was like… a nudge. An idea popped into my head. I acted on it without a second thought. It just seemed like the natural thing to do. I moved back and to the right. I found myself uncomfortably close to a body. A human like body. It had to be the Doctor. Yes, it was. So he hadn't ignored me after all.

His fingers intertwined with mine and he led me through the room as though he knew exactly where he was going.

The silence was nearly unbearable. I could barely hear our own footsteps. I should have been thanking God for carpeting, but at the moment the silence screamed volumes. It pressed against my ears like an elephant sat on them. My head was nearly throbbing anxiously. It hurt, it was so powerful. I could almost hear it, throbbing in my eardrums.

And then suddenly, I heard a door open in front of us, then close behind us. A small blue light appeared, lighting up no more than our faces. The Doctor looked very intimidating in the intense light. The sharp angles of his face more accented, defined. His eyes more narrowed and focused.

"You were right, a nest." I said softly. He nodded and pointed the screwdriver at the new room. There were no Chitters in the room, but I had a feeling he already knew that before he turned on the light.

"Can you see in the dark? I couldn't see a thing." I said as he moved forward. I followed him, attracted to the light he shone. I didn't know why I was talking. I didn't want the Chitters to hear me, but I guess the silence really was that terrible.

"You could say that," The Doctor replied quietly, which was an amazing feat. I was used to his loud annoying voice already, even though I'd only met him twice in my life, so far.

"So what are we looking for?" I asked.

"Anything related to these things. They're not any known alien species. Or they might be. They seem more… manufactured, than born by any traditional means. Who lived here before?"

"Um… I think their names were Griffin."

"That was their last name? A couple?" The Doctor stopped at a desk and handed me the screwdriver. He looked through papers and I held up the light.

"Yeah, I think so. Middle aged, quiet, really weird now that I think about it. They didn't talk to anyone. I didn't care at the time. It's not like I wanted to socialize."

The Doctor's hands stilled and I lightly bit the inside of my cheek.

"I'm sorry, am I bothering you? I should shut up, shouldn't I?"

"No, no. Not at all. It's kind of reassuring, actually."

"Reassuring?" I asked, wondering what he meant by that. Instead he changed the subject. Either that, or he didn't hear me.

"Look here. They were scientists. Job applications to a scientific organization looking into robotics and advanced technologies. Some place called ABE. _Advanced Biological Entities. _That sounds interesting."

"I'd say," I replied, reading over his shoulder. "I've heard about that group. They're all insane. They believe that the human race should be more submissive and that it would guarantee our survival under more advanced alien species." I said. The Doctor looked up at me, his features stunned.

"What?" I asked.

"It sounds like you believe in aliens."

"A lot of people believe in aliens."

"Not like that, I mean you _believe _in them." I stared at him for several long, painfully silent moments. At first I'd been confused, but then I figured out what he meant. He meant that I knew about alien attacks, alien events that had to do with Earth. He may have even assumed I knew more than just Earth going-on's. But that wasn't true. However, I did have some friends that had been involved in some highly questionable events that no one could cover up.

"Does it really matter?" I asked.

"I suppose not, not now." He replied, spinning around in his chair again to go through papers.

"So this organization, ABE. You think they could have… _created _these Chitter things?" I asked.

"There's nothing here that suggests it was the Chitters, but some of this is very suspicious." He looked up at me and grinned. "I guess there's always one way to find out. Come on."

The Doctor stood and took my hand. I returned the screwdriver to him and as we turned, we froze. The door had opened sometime while we were talking. I hadn't even heard it.

The Chitters were staring at us. Their bright, bloody red eyes stared at us. They didn't make any sounds; just sat there and watched five feet away.

"Don't make any sudden movements," The Doctor said in a slow, steady voice.

"Don't have to tell me," I replied, my hand tightening on his subconsciously. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. Besides, there were more important things to worry about at the moment.

"What do we do?" I asked calmly, my voice emotionless and robotic. That was one of my greatest skills, my greatest strength. In times of duress, tension, anything where any average person would scream bloody murder, cry, run away, I would just stand there and stare it down till it was nothing. When the Chitters had attacked me in the street, I didn't scream or cry. I just fought. That's what I do. I react like ice, cold and unfeeling, emotionless and powerful. I feel powerful when facing a situation that others think they should be afraid. But I have very select fears. The Chitters were not on that list. So therefore, I stared it down and became powerful in sheer will.

"We could always try talking to them?" The Doctor suggested with an interested expression.

"You can't be serious. They're mutant rats. They can't talk." I said matter of fact.

"How do you know? Have you tried?"

"I was a bit busy trying not to be eaten last time. Didn't have much time to chat."

"You're so negative!" He complained.

"I like to think I'm realistic."

He ignored me, again, and turned to the Chitters. They'd moved closer. I almost jumped, but I held myself together.

"So! What do you call yourselves?" The Doctor asked them.

"_Chittachittachitta._" They all chorused. My jaw tightened. I really hated that sound. It was like nails on chalkboard. The Doctor's eyes flashed and then he turned to smile at me.

"Well what do you know?" He said, his voice laced with mild amusement.

"What? Don't tell me you understood that?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Apparently I do. It's a similar dialect to the Roctmark language. The species there are… eh… how do I put this… I guess they're like furry dinosaurs. The small ones, mind you. Really furry, almost like shaggy puppies. Aw, I love puppies…"

"DOCTOR." I said sternly, not taking my eyes off the Chitters, who were starting to whisper 'chittas' to each other.

"What?"

"What are they saying?"

"Eh? Oh, right. Something about you being less pink than the others."

"What others?" I asked, looking down at myself. My clothes were all black and white. I never wore pink, so where they not referring to my clothing? Maybe… Oh!

"Are they talking about my skin?"

"You're quick to catch on girly," The Doctor said proudly. The same tone he'd used when I'd impressed him as a girl. I tried not to smile back, but failed miserably. So instead I looked away from him and focused on the Chitters.

"So, what are they called?"

"Oh. They don't know. They heard you call them Chitters, so they were wondering about that. Anyway," He returned his attention to the creatures.

"Where did you all come from? Was it ABE? _Advanced Biological Entities_?" The Chitters chorused something unintelligible. The Doctor was nodding his head like he understood. I decided not to comment.

"They're saying yes. Well, sort of yes. _Well_, they recognize the name but they have no idea where they _came _from, literally speaking." The Doctor explained, his voice rising ever so slightly with every 'well'. I squinted at him.

"So, they know about ABE, but they don't realize that's where they originated?"

"They might not have originated there at all. Well, they might have. But it's too soon to tell."

He turned back to the Chitters and crossed his arms.

"So," He said to the creatures. "We're looking into ABE. We're going to head there now, but you're blocking the door. Can you let us out?"

This immediately earned several loud chittas and I covered my ears.

"Ow! What did you say?" I asked over the screeches. The Doctor rubbed his ear and looked at me with an expression I didn't like.

"Well, it seems that they don't like ABE, they don't want anyone going there ever, and they haven't eaten for a while and don't want us to leave. Ever."

"Well I'm not having any of that!" I exclaimed, moving over to the window.

"Um, Katie? What are you doing?" His voice was growing nervous. I didn't like the sound of that.

"I'm not staying with these things. I'm leaving, and you can either stay with these weird Chitters for who knows how long, or come with me and look into this. So what are you going to do?" I asked. By the time I'd finished speaking, I'd opened the window and had crawled halfway through. The Chitters had grown wilder and were fighting with each other, moving closer and closer to us with every second.

The Doctor looked from me, to the Chitters, than back at me. His face in the sonic light was unreadable. I had no idea what he was thinking, but whatever it was, it was very important. And I wasn't getting it. It almost looked like he wanted to stay, to talk to those freaky mutants more. But that was insane. He wouldn't do that, would he? Who was I kidding? This was the Doctor Weirdo from my childhood, with a stupid blue TARDIS box that was bigger on the inside, and went around talking about Shadows that tear you apart and bounces around like a little schoolboy. Who was I kidding, he probably wanted to make the things tea and ask them everything about themselves and where they came from.

But just when I had convinced myself he would stay, he stuffed the Sonic Screwdriver in his pocket and rushed over to me. I smiled and jumped onto the fire escape, the Doctor quickly following me. The Chitters immediately went hysterical. They pounced over each other, trying to get to the window in a wild frenzy.

The Doctor pulled the window shut then used the screwdriver on the frames. I had no idea how that would help with anything, but the Doctor was close behind me as we hurried down the ladder to the ground below. As soon as our feet touched the ground we looked up to see the window shattering.

"Run!" He shouted, grabbing my hand again and dashing down the alleyway. I didn't second guess him and hurried beside him.

"Which way are we going?!" I exclaimed, looking over my shoulder to see them falling over each other down the fire escape.

"I don't know!" He shouted back, a smile on his face.

"Why are you smiling?!" I exclaimed.

"Running's fun!"

I didn't question him as we ran down several blocks. Finally, when I knew they weren't following, I pulled him to a halt.

"I think we lost them," I huffed, my hands on my knees as I took in deep breaths.

"Yeah… you're right," The Doctor stretched his back and moved his arms. "Well, that was interesting! I wasn't sure you would actually want to look into ABE."

"I wasn't sure you wanted to leave, so right back atcha' weirdo." He smiled and then looked around.

"So, where is ABE?" He asked.

"Didn't you look at the map?" I asked, standing up straight. He eyed me curiously.

"What map?"

"The one on the wall…? Oh, who am I kidding. You were looking at the desk. We're downtown. The ABE building is out of town, by at least ten minutes the way I saw it, if you were driving by car." I reached into my jeans pocket, suddenly wishing I had my coat back.

"I'll call Mabry. She can pick us up." I said, pressing in the buttons. I looked up to see the Doctor had started to walk away.

"Hey! Where're you going?" I said. He stopped and turned to look at me.

"That'll take too long. The Chitters are getting anxious, restless. I've been around for a few days and they haven't made any advances on the population. After the attack today, it's only a matter of time before they attack again. We need to get to the Headquarters now."

"Yeah, I'm working on it. Why, do you have a car or something?" I asked.

He smirked and my eyes widened.

"Wait… Do you still have that… thing? The TARDIS? The…bigger on the inside box?" He grinned and nodded his head to the right.

"Right around the corner. Come on."

I followed him silently down the street, ending the call to Mabry. She'd be fine, I told myself.

We rounded the bend and I felt the air escape my lungs. There it was, the Police Box sign shining, the light on top dark and inactive. The Doctor walked up to the doors and slid in a key, turning the lock and opening the door.

"Well, come on!" He beckoned, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. It took me a moment to snap out of my daze. I hurried toward the box and touched the handle. I took in a deep breath. This was it. I never thought I'd see this thing again, let alone be allowed to step inside once more.

I felt a smile grace my lips and I pushed open the door. There it was, in all it's beautiful glory. Bigger on the inside, just like I remembered it. I closed the doors behind me and leaned against the wood.

The coral design was a welcome sight. The warm, burning orange with the hundreds of lights warming the interior. The console with its big blue light traveling up and down, up and down in a steady, pulsating rhythm. The grated floor was hard but even beneath my feet. I could feel the heat of the generator beneath us, shifting up and into the air. I was suddenly glad I wasn't wearing my coat.

The Doctor stood next to the flight seats, pressing buttons on the console and… did he just hit it with a toy hammer?

He noticed me and grinned.

"Katie! Ready to go?" The Doctor asked, typing on some keys I couldn't see. I stepped up the ramp to stand at the console.

"Back when I was a kid, I watched this thing disappear into thin air. Is that what's going to happen? But with us inside?"

"Yep-ah!" He said with a grin, placing his hand over a lever and holding onto the edge of the control panel.

"Ready?" He asked, his eyes aglow with mischief. He knew something I didn't, I could tell.

"Yes," I said, unable to suppress a smile of my own. He flipped the switch. I immediately fell over as the TARDIS began to shake uncontrollably.

"What's going on?!" I shouted. The Doctor laughed and held onto the console tightly. I grabbed onto the panel as well and couldn't resist laughing too. It was insane! A miraculous, insane, wondrous, perfectly ridiculous situation that I couldn't resist enjoying.

The TARDIS made a sudden jolt, and then everything was still.

"There we go! Step outside," The Doctor said, standing up and waving his arm toward the doors.

"Why? We can't possible be there yet?" I said. He just grinned and nodded his head in the direction he pointed.

"Fine, let's go." I said. I stepped down the ramp and pushed open the doors, anxious to see where we were.

"Oh. My. Gosh."

"Well?" The Doctor said with an excited smile.

"How did you do that? Did we teleport? That has to be it, that's the only explanation!" I exclaimed, rushing out and looking up at the large ABE building structure. We were in the middle of nowhere, but we were exactly where we needed to be.

"Yep! The TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. We can go anywhere we want. Wherever and whenever."

"Whenever? You mean like time?"

"I believe I said _Time _and Relative Dimension in Space."

I suddenly felt sick. I stared at his stupid, smiling face and looked him over. I knew he hadn't looked a day older. The same suit, shoes, face, hair. Everything was the same, nothing had changed.

"When you said you're coordinates were a little off, you managed to show up six months later. You traveled in time, six months into my future because your coordinates were off." I said, my tone cold and empty. His smile faltered.

"Yes."

"How long has it been since you last saw me? By your time standards, I mean." I asked softly. The Doctor finally frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Not even a week. Five days, four hours, thirty two minutes… forty eight seconds…" I stared at him emptily.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that I had to wait so many long, painful years, wondering why I never saw him again. It wasn't fair that so little time had passed for him, so little time that he probably didn't think about me for a second. While I spent hours every day, thinking and wondering about him. It was so unfair, but as I thought about it, I couldn't bring myself to blame him.

If this guy was a time traveler, it wasn't his fault. He could stick around. And it would be a pain trying to. He said it had only bee four days in his time line. It's not that he didn't think about me, it was that he had no actual reason to. He said he'd be back, and he came back only once because of the Shadows we'd looked into together, back when I was a child. He even told me not to wait up on him. He'd known, but I didn't.

I sighed and put my hands on my hips.

"So what's the plan then? We just waltz up and ask them if they've been creating mutant rats that speak an alien language? I have a feeling they'll be happy to tell us everything." I said sarcastically.

The grin was back as he stepped up beside me and led me up to the front doors.

"See this?" He asked, pulling out something black that looked like a wallet.

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked as we stopped outside the doors.

"Look at it. I expect you'll see a Police Identification card." He flipped it open and I stared at the piece of paper. I squinted.

"I… don't understand. The words are all… blurry." The Doctor watched me curiously.

"That's interesting…" He started to look at it himself, but I grabbed it.

"No! Let me try again. It might just be the lighting." I stared at it long and hard. But the longer I looked at it, the more blurry it became.

"I… I don't get it…"

"You're brilliant."

"What?" I exclaimed as he took it away.

"This is psychic paper. It allows people to see whatever I want them to see."

"But I can't see it."

"That's just it! You're brilliant! Only brilliant people can see through it." He knocked on the door twice and smiled at me like I was amazing. I didn't smile.

"So, you wanted me to see a police identification card. Who's to say I've never seen one before?" I asked curiously as I folded my arms. His eyes narrowed as he thought it over.

"Yeah, you're right… Have you?" I couldn't help but smirk.

"Actually I have," I said with a smile.

"Like I said, you're brilliant." I looked down and tried to hide how happy I was with his praise. I wasn't used to it. But when I knew it was sincere, I always ended up blushing scarlet.

The intercom buzzed.

"Who is it?"

"Investigator John Smith with the US Government. I'm here regarding you're recent projects."

"One moment please."

We waited on the front steps until the doors finally opened. A woman in a white lab coat stared at us skeptically.

"Show me your credentials." She said, her voice low and intimidating. I stared at her emotionlessly as the Doctor showed her the Psychic Paper.

"Right here," The Doctor said calmly, authority strong in his tone. The woman took the paper and stared at it long and hard.

"I see. And which _projects _are you looking into?" She asked, handing the paper back to the Doctor. I stared. This lady was a scientist from what I could tell. And she read it fine. But she had to be a thousand times smarter than me. How did that happen?

"You know which one," The Doctor said calmly, tucking it into his jacket. She nodded numbly and walked inside the building. We took that as our cue to follow.

"How…?" I whispered to him once we were a safe distance behind her. He just grinned down at me.

"Like I said, brilliant."

"You two don't look like Government officials." The woman said.

"It was a bit of a rush," The Doctor said. "We were just notified. Closest to the sight, they said. So we just hurried over, didn't waste any time."

"Uh-huh." The Woman said. She was seriously freaking me out. But I didn't let it show. Instead, I had another question for the Doctor.

"Where did John Smith come from? That can't be your real name?" I whispered softly. He shook his head.

"Nope. But it works."

"I can tell." I said.

The Woman stopped outside a door and flashed a security card against a scanner. The white door slid open and she motioned us inside. The Doctor went in first, and then I followed with the woman trailing behind. I lost my breath for a moment as I took it all in.

There were rows and rows of cages. Cages filled with Chitters. They were all murmuring their own language, cowering in the corners of their crates, hiding from the light and eyeing the scientists that observed them from the outside. If mutant rats could cry, this had to be what it sounded like. Their terrible voices were not intimidating here. They were sad, and it was breaking my heart. And that was the last thing I expected to feel toward the creatures that tried to tear off my arm.

I looked at the Doctor. He looked more frightening than the woman who let us in. He looked ready to flip a table. He was practically seething. But the woman didn't notice or didn't care. She just stared at everything like it was her own beautiful creation. And I couldn't help but loath her for that.

"What are you doing to them?" I heard my voice come out strong and low. Even though inside my heart was shaking and trembling on the edge of… something I didn't like. Something I wasn't familiar with and something I was afraid of. What was it, the feeling of being out of control? The fear of an emotional breakdown? I could feel it in the back of my mind. Something that was always there, and was the reason I was always keeping my cool.

"Six months ago we got a hold of some alien DNA. We experimented with it and tested it on our lab rats. They grew into an entirely new being, never seen before by any living entity. We call them the NBRO. _New Biological Rodent Origin_. They aren't intelligent, by what we can figure. But we are learning so much from their brain activity, the way they transmit messages and remember certain patterns. It's less than childlike, and definitely alien. But these are manufactured beings."

"Tell me, when did these 'unintelligent', 'manufactured' beings figure out how to escape in a mass quantity?" I was startled by how dark his tone was. He was speaking through his teeth, his dark eyes fiery and aglow with a deeply rooted anger. I'd never seen him like that before.

The Woman's eyes sparked dangerously.

"They are not intelligent. Two of our workers made a stupid decision that left 1/3 of the cages unlocked. It wouldn't have taken any brains to push open the door and run out. We've been collecting them ever since."

"And how long ago was this?" I asked.

"Three weeks ago." That was how long I'd been hearing them.

The Doctor suddenly walked away, past the woman and down the steps to the main floor. I followed closely behind him. I admired the way he walked around like he owned the place. He seemed so confident and in control, even though it felt to me like there was nothing we could really do about it.

He stepped up to one of the cages and knelt down to look at the creature inside. It was scrunched up in a corner, not looking up at the Doctor or the lights behind him. I felt a pang in my chest as the Doctor reached inside.

"Hey, you there!" One of the scientists shouted. "Do not reach through the bars!" The Doctor ignored the man who was now rushing over to stop him. He touched the Chitter on the head. The creature flinched and moved back. The Doctor, undeterred, reached further still, and placed his hand on the creature's head again. All was silent between them. The creature didn't move, the Doctor simply stared at its blood red eyes.

"What does he think he's doing?!" The woman shouted, joining us as well. The man behind us was taking notes like it was a scientific breakthrough. I finally took a look at the woman's nametag. Wendy Hanson, it read.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. I crouched down next to the Doctor and looked inside. The Doctor mumbled something under his breath. I barely caught it before turning back to Wendy.

"What were the names of the two scientists who let 1/3 escape?" I asked for the Doctor, who looked deep in concentration.

"Andrew and Taylor Griffin." I turned back to the Doctor, whose eyes had widened slightly.

"What happened to them? What mistake did they make?" I asked.

"They were exposed to the radiation emanating from a replicated alien DNA strand we created. They lost their minds and let 1/3 go." Wendy said, finally showing some emotion. Shame.

"Where are they now?" I asked.

"Out there somewhere. Dead, I'd think. It was like they were… turning into the NBRO."

I turned to the Doctor.

"Can you understand these ones?" I asked him. He took a breath, ready to say something, but then thought better of it.

"It's strange. These ones intelligence is extremely limited. This lady—"

"Wendy."

"—Wendy, was right. These creatures don't have a clue what's going on. More so than the others. All they know is the difference between light and dark, and that they like dark better. All they are aware of is hiding from light and people."

"But the ones outside, they had a higher level of understanding."

"Exactly, so what changed?" The Doctor mused, bringing his hand back.

"Maybe it had to do with the Griffin's. Didn't you hear her? She said it was like they were _becoming _the Chitters."

"And when they let the others escape they led them back to the only place they knew, home. The apartment complex."

"And that's where they got their nest," I realized. "And intelligence?"

"Eh. The Griffin's must have retained some mental understanding and passed it on to the others."

"If they even did turn into the creatures."

"What are Chitters?" Wendy asked, crossing her arms. The male scientist was still writing on his clipboard.

"Oh," the Doctor and I said in unison, having forgotten they were listening.

"That's just, a nickname we thought of…" I said. Wendy nodded, looking slightly complexed.

"So, can we see the security tapes?" The Doctor said.

The tapes showed us exactly what Wendy said. The Griffins, I recognized their faces immediately, they were experimenting on the replicated DNA from the Chitters. Something went wrong and they were exposed to the radiation they were using to tap into the DNA. Apparently they were looking into a possible telepathic frequency they'd been observing the Chitters use between themselves. It was only a theory. But the exposure caused them to… transform, to put it lightly. It was much more gruesome than that, but I didn't want to explain.

During the time their minds were going haywire, they let at least 1/3 of the captivated Chitters free, and ended up leading them back to the apartment complex I lived in. That was three weeks ago.

"So, I don't understand something," I said finally, after the tapes were finished rolling.

"What?" The Doctor replied.

"The Chitters attacked us on the street. They way you reacted to it; it was like that was the last thing you expected. What's the deal with that? Why did they attack people if you think they're so docile?" The Doctor hummed and rubbed his ear again.

"Well, they're so submissive. They like the dark, the quiet. Why would they go into the light and make noise and create chaos. It seems very out of character."

"So, there's some outside influence? You see stuff like that always happening in the movies."

"For once, movies might be right about something." The Doctor said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there's something else out there telling the Chitters what to do. And whatever it is, it's not a Chitter."

"Or NBRO," I added robotically.

At that moment we heard a loud crash. I looked up over the railing and stared. All the Chitters were scratching and biting at the cages. They looked like monsters, fighting to destroy the bars and screeching at the top of their lungs.

"Doctor, what's going on?" I asked as the scientists started shouting at each other to get the NBRO's under control. He stared unseeingly at everything. He was listening to the screeching.

"Doctor! What's going on? What are they saying?" I said louder this time.

"Everyone get out of here!" The Doctor suddenly shouted. The Scientists ignored him. The Doctor growled and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. He pressed a button and pointed it at the machine.

"Stand back!" He shouted at me. I did as I was told, and just in time. The machine exploded into fiery sparks. The alarms in the building blared, and the people below looked up. Whatever the alarm meant, it was scaring them.

"Everyone! Get out of here NOW!" The Doctor shouted again, clinging to the railing. Apparently, the Doctor's words and the alarms and screeching creatures were enough to get the scientists moving out of the room.

The Doctor rushed down the steps again to the main floor and I followed close behind him.

"Doctor! Stop!" I shouted. He stopped and spun around, his eyes blazing with some unreadable emotion. He extended his hand to me.

"Come on!" He shouted. I grabbed his hand and he half dragged me across the room to the emergency escape doors.

"Those things are going to kill everything in sight. There's nothing I can do but seal off the building. Everything will shut down in less than a minute!" The Doctor explained, pushing open the emergency door and letting me through.

"Why? Why would they do that?" I yelled.

"Because they were told to!"

"By who?"

He didn't answer as the door behind us slammed shut and we ran out into the open night air. We ran back to the TARDIS, but didn't even make it halfway. The Doctor gabbed my arm and pulled me to an abrupt halt. I soon saw why. The Chitters were there. The 1/3 that had escaped. A large group of them were still running up, but several Chitters sat in front of the TARDIS, sitting and staring silently at us.

"What are they doing?" I whispered. The Doctor frowned and looked at them.

"I'm sorry," He said.

"For what? What's going on?" I asked. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around as the Chitters began to surround us.

"I just… I don't understand," He was muttering to himself. "What would tell them to do this? I can't…?"

"Doctor." I said, hitting his arm. "Tell me what's happening."

His jaw tightened as he looked down at me.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it seems to be interested in me."

"You? Why you specifically?"

"It's just a guess. I've ticked off a lot of people in my time." His tone sounded old, tired. "I just don't understand who's behind this… It could be anything, anyone?"

"Please stop talking like you're a thousand years old." I said.

"Hey! I'm not a thousand years old!" The Doctor complained. I looked at him. He sure picked his conversations strangely.

"Please focus!" I said instead of asking how old he was anyway.

"Oh, right, right…" He muttered, looking around. The Chitter's bright red eyes lit through the darkness. The ABE building behind us finally stopped blaring its alarms.

"So it's locked down now?" I asked.

"Yep." The Doctor replied.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"Wait, I suppose."

"_Doctooor…!_" I flinched.

"Did those Chitters just… say Doctor?" I asked. The Doctor looked as perplexed as I did.

"_Time… Looo…..r….d…." _Now the Doctor started to look worried.

"What's controlling you?!" The Doctor shouted. "Who's telling you to say this?!" He shouted. The Chitters erupted into a fit of screeches and squeals.

"_Doctor, DOCTOR, Time Lord, TIME LORD!" _I heard it screech. I covered my ears but the Doctor was looking around wildly.

"_SAVE US!" _And then, I had no idea what happened. Just as they had screamed their last words, they disappeared into blue light. I stared for several long, hard seconds.

"Doctor…" I muttered. The Doctor was staring up into the night sky, lit up with thousands of tiny stars and planets.

"What happened to them? Why did they say all that? Save them from who? And what's a Time Lord?"

The Doctor sighed as he finally looked down at me.

"They were teleported. It was a high frequency transport, probably to another planet. Maybe another alien ship somewhere far out in the galaxy. I don't know what they where talking about. Saving them… I have to figure that out."

The Doctor then walked over to his TARDIS and opened the door to go inside. I followed him quickly.

"But what's a Time Lord? They said it like it was really important. They said your name too," I continued once I closed the door behind me. He pressed buttons on the console, his face showing his deep concentration. He finally looked up at me.

"I'm a Time Lord," The Doctor said evenly.

"Oh. I should have known that," I said, remembering our conversation about Time Travel.

"No, it's fine."

"So they wanted you to save them from something. You don't know what, but it's not here."

"It's not here," The Doctor repeated with a nod. "I'll have to find out where. But that will take some time. I'll take you back home. Your friend, Ginger Mabry, she's probably worrying about you."

"Probably," I said as I walked up the ramp to stand next to the console.

"And then what? What's next? What about those people in the ABE building?"

"When the building locks down an immediate transmission is sent to command. If anyone was still inside when it locked down, they'll be out within an hour or two. Besides, after that transport, there isn't any danger inside."

"Why did you lock it down?"

"They were screaming 'kill'. I couldn't let them get outside. Sometimes everything comes down to a single, split-second decision. I don't pretend to like it, because I don't." His expression was too serious for me to take in. He looked deeply bothered by something.

"I think you made the right call." I said. I had no idea why I said that. Was I trying to comfort him? Was I just making an observation, that I would have done the same thing? It didn't matter the moment his lips turned upward into a light smirk.

"I suppose so," The Doctor decided. "No one got hurt, so yeah, it's alright then."

He pulled the lever and I was ready this time. The TARDIS shook, then jolted to a sudden halt. I looked at the doors.

"So we're back at the complex then?" I asked.

"Yep. Back home for you," He said, already punching in new coordinates for who knew where.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Mabry had texted me. _'Whre r u?' _I looked up at the Doctor.

"What if… I don't want to go back?" I asked. He looked up at me. He didn't look surprised, but he did look mildly curious.

"Why wouldn't you want to go back?"

"Back there isn't home. It never was. It was a temporary residence until I knew what I wanted to do with my life. There's nothing back there for me except for Mabry."

"Uh… is she your… uh…"

"No, you stupid face!" I exclaimed, blushing scarlet. "She's just my best friend! She's all I got dimwit!" The Doctor flinched.

"I'm sorry," He exclaimed.

"It's fine. Just don't say stupid things like that!" I replied firmly.

"But… what about your parents? You've got those, don't you?" He asked. My jaw tightened.

"Not anymore." I said. It wasn't a complete lie. But after everything we'd been through, it may as well be the truth. I had no ties to them anymore.

"Siblings?"

"No." I said, surprised I didn't choke on the word.

"Just a best friend."

"Yeah."

"So, you wanna' come with me?" He asked, a silly grin crossing his face. It made my spirits soar the moment I saw it.

"Yes, I really, REALLY do!" I exclaimed. But then I faltered. "I mean, if that's okay. Is that okay? That's allowed?"

"'Course it's allowed! Why wouldn't it be?" He asked seriously.

"Um, should I go grab some stuff?"

"If you want to. I've got a wardrobe of clothing from everywhere. You can grab some stuff from home though, if you want. I'll wait." Before I knew what I was doing, I'd run over to him and attacked him with a hug.

"Oi! Wow, okay, okay," The Doctor said, his face turning a bit red. I just laughed and clasped my hands together.

"Oh my gosh, thank you so, _so _much!" I exclaimed. "I'll be right back!"

I ran down the ramp and outside to the apartment. I ran up to my place and opened the door to find Mabry calling someone.

"Mabry!" I exclaimed, running up to hug her.

"Wow! Are you okay? What happened? I tried to call you but you didn't answer! I was just about to call the police because I didn't know what happened…"

"Everything is _fine_!" I said happily. "I'm going with the Doctor. He said I could go with him!"

"Go with him where? What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Help me pack and I'll show you," I replied.

"Okay."

All I grabbed was a backpack. I filled it with my notebooks, drawing pads, MP3, and a picture of my little brother. I stared at it for a long time, memorizing every detail of his face for the thousandth time. Then I stuffed it into the bag and put it on my back. I didn't worry about clothes. The Doctor said he could take care of that, I believed him. But I did grab my red coat. That, I was definitely bringing with me.

I brought Mabry out to the TARDIS and opened the door. She reacted exactly as I did when I was seven. Bigger on the inside. It took her awhile to get used to it. The Doctor was sitting on the flight seats, watching me explain what I'd be doing. Explaining the whole time travel thing. He then suddenly called out, "Oh, and it can go to other worlds."

"What do you mean? Other worlds?" I asked.

"You know, planets. Other galaxies. There's a whole universe to explore. Time travel can be so _limiting_. Its way more fun traveling across the universe."

I turned to Mabry.

"So? Wish me luck?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Sure. Just keep in touch every once in awhile, okay?"

"I promise," I said. I gave her a hug and then watched her go. Once the doors closed, I turned around to see the Doctor's hand on the lever.

"So? Have anywhere in mind? Any_when_?"

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Okay, if you're still with me after that chapter, I applaud you! Haha! Sorry for the painfully long chapter. Next chapters to come will begin to focus more on the summery of this story, the Master's trick and how it ties in to Katie and what it means for the Doctor. Please review and let me know what you think. I love love LOVE reviews, and it is a MAJOR blessing when I get to read what you think. Seriously. And with the next chapter, things will begin to get complicated…

Side Note: Oh, and the Chitters will play a role in the future of this story, so it wasn't all in vain. :) Thank you, you're all brilliant!


	4. Getting to Know a Stranger

**Chapter Four**

_Getting to Know a Stranger_

Like I said before, the TARDIS was WAY bigger on the inside. Bigger than I originally thought, actually. The Doctor showed me around the corridors, giving me a rough explanation of how the rooms change from one place to the other.

"The TARDIS is telepathic," he said as he motioned to the walls. "She can reflect your feelings and thoughts if they are strong enough. So the best thing you can do is remember the basic layout your first introduced to. This way the TARDIS can map you to wherever you need to go at a moments notice." I gave him an odd look.

"You mean she can read my thoughts?" I asked. He hesitated a moment before responding.

"Uh… I guess you could put it that way." I felt my face go white.

"And can _you_? Can you read my thoughts? I mean, if she can… is there a way you can too?" I asked. He stopped walking and gave me a hard look.

"No one's looking into your thoughts, Katie. Those are yours to keep as private as you like. The TARDIS just recognizes your memory _patterns _and transmits them through the circuit. Nothing to worry about." The Doctor then smiled brightly and bounced back down the hallways. I hurried to follow him, not bothering to mention how he didn't really answer my question.

"So, can I have my own room?" I asked, looking at all the doors we passed. If I'd be staying, I'd have a room, right?

"Of course! What do you think we're doing right now?" The Doctor asked, giving me a funny look.

"Oh." I said dumbly.

"Now! I've explained the basic layout," he said as he eyed me carefully.

"Is that what you did?" I asked sarcastically. His eyes twinkled like he was used to a response like that.

"Now, you should go find your room."

"By myself?" I asked incredulously, looking around the corridors. Didn't he say these things moved? That the TARDIS switched the rooms around sometimes? And he thought it was safe to leave me in here? Alone?

"Of course! What could go wrong?" He said it so seriously I almost believed nothing _could_ go wrong. But that only lasted for a moment.

"What do you think weirdo? I could get lost! I might not find my way back!" I exclaimed. He chuckled at my behavior.

"You? Get lost? I saw you watching every turn we made. You've been memorizing everything so far, haven't you? Come on, tell me I'm wrong."

"_You're wrong_." I said, but smiled. He blinked at me in surprise.

"What?" The Doctor asked. I laughed.

"Dang you _are _weird. _Yes_, I've been making notes of where we're going."

"Good," his face brightened again. "Just remember what you've seen and how to get back, I'm sure you'll have no problem." With that, the Doctor walked off, that bounce in his step still obvious.

I watched him go and swallowed hard. I still couldn't believe he just left me alone in a corridor that could change any second, or so he said. I closed my eyes and tucked away my memory of how to get back, making sure I'd be able to remember it when I needed it.

So, I turned and started looking around. I had no idea what he was expecting me to do. Find my own room? How? I took a deep breath and moved forward. I supposed I'd know it when I saw it.

I have no idea how long I walked down the corridors, remembering where I'd gone and how to get back. I checked every door I came across, but they were either locked or completely uninteresting. I was hoping it would be obvious.

And that's when I saw it. A door completely unlike all the other pale white doors.

It was dark black, with gold spiral designs on it. I reached forward and placed my hand on the silver doorknob. This had to be it, I reasoned. I carefully twisted the knob and smiled to myself when I heard it click unlocked. I pushed it open and stared.

The walls were a deep and unnatural purple, some version of the color I'd never seen before on Earth. There was a queen sized bed with a night stand on either side. The bed covers were black and the pillows were gold, white, and red. There was a coat hanger next to the main door. The floor was wooden, with intricate dark designs in the paneling. The ceiling was onyx black, but that was just the background. Instead of a normal light fixture, there were star constellations, like you'd see on the clearest night or in pictures of space itself. The stars moved in their orbits in slow, beautiful motions. I stared at them for awhile before moving further into the room.

There were two more doors in the room. One led to a bathroom, the other led to a closet. The Doctor wasn't kidding. That closet stretched on forever, but I didn't step inside to try and prove it.

I looked up to see a window on the farthest wall from the main door. I walked over to it and pulled back the rich white curtains and smiled. I saw the field, in the forest behind my old home as a child. The place I first saw the Doctor land in his TARDIS. And I had a window to look at it whenever I wanted. I smiled softly and rubbed my fingers against the curtains. I didn't know who to thank for this brilliant room. The Doctor, or a machine that I was told had feelings?

"Thanks," I breathed out to the air. The floor beneath me hummed and I stared. Was that the TARDIS's response? I tried not to think about it. It was too bizarre.

I set down the black backpack I'd been carrying and settled in. I placed the picture of my brother on the nightstand and stared at it. That was all I needed. Everything else I planned on carrying around with me. The backpack was filled with notebooks, pens, and pencils. I planned on taking a _lot _of notes and journal entries about what I'd be seeing. Everything that had to do with this man I'd only just met.

A shiver ran down my spine as I just realized it. I actually didn't know anything about him. And yet I already could feel so comfortable around him. It was… unnatural. And yet I really, could not care at all how strange it was. All that mattered, was that I was finally doing something important with my life. At least, I could feel it deep in my soul. This was it.

The Doctor had been right. I walked back to the Console room without any trouble. I found him jumping around the control panel, flicking switches and hitting buttons.

"Hey!" He said with a smile that should have split his face in half. "Find it?" It took me a moment to register his words, as I was still pondering his impossible smiling abilities.

"Uh… Oh, yeah. Right. I found it," I said, tossing my backpack onto the pilot seat. He noticed.

"Bit small for you," he said, noting the bag's size. "What's in there?" He asked curiously, walking around and poking at it. I smacked his hand away.

"My _stuff_," I said seriously. He cradled his hand and pouted at me.

"Okay, fine. It has my journals in it. I have a feeling I'll want to remember all of this, no matter what." I said with a shy smile. The Doctor smiled faintly.

"Are you alright?" I asked. All of his other smiles were so genuine and impossibly big. This one seemed more… sad.

"Of course I'm alright!" He quickly piped, smiling broadly again and turning to the control system. "I'm the _King _of alright! Now, where do you want to go?"

I bit my lip and tapped my hands on the edge of the system.

"Surprise me," I said. His lips formed a strange, mysterious smile as he pressed a button and grabbed the lever.

"Are you _sure_?" He said, a glint in his eyes making me shiver. I nodded.

"Like I can just pick from the top of my mind."

"Well, alright~y then."

He pulled the lever and the entire TARDIS shook again. I grabbed hold of the railing and stared at him as he shouted with a manic grin, "ALLONS~Y!" I smiled at the familiar word and held on tight.

It came to a sudden halt and I fell backward, unprepared for it. The Doctor grinned and pulled me up.

"Come on, check it out!" He said excitedly. I stood and looked at the doors.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking to the Doctor as something like anxiety filled my system. It was all I could do not to run to the doors and plow right through them.

"Find out," He said, nodding to the door. I glared at him.

"What?" He said, his smile unwavering. "You said 'surprise me'. Did I hear you wrong?" I rolled my eyes.

"Ugh, barely even the first day and I'm ready to strangle you."

"Oi! Come on, you'll get used to it. Now go take a look!"

"Fine," I sighed. I reached over and grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

I marched over to the front doors and shoved them open. Without stopping, I walked right out into whatever waited for me.

I don't know what sound escaped my throat but it could _not _have been natural. Let me explain. For one, the waist length grass was candy _orange_. The sky above me was a light, shining purple. I could see the stars along with three suns lighting up everything. Small particles of light floated up from the ground and disappeared into the atmosphere. In the distance I could see a gleaming, silver city, towering over everything. Taller than all the enormous, pink, pine-looking trees in the distance.

I felt the Doctor's presence behind me and I turned to him, gaping at the sight. He grinned back, his teeth showing.

"Whad'ya think?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was wearing his long brown overcoat again. He probably put it on while I marched out of the TARDIS.

"It's… beautiful. I should have brought a camera."

"O~h, don't worry about that. Camera's can't compare to being there yourself." I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied, still marveling at everything.

I grabbed his arm.

"So, where are we?" I asked, unable to hide the giddiness in my voice. He smiled slightly, and I wondered if it bothered him, the way I had touched him. But until he said otherwise, I'd carry on.

"We're on the planet Cheftra, run by a race called the Livbel. A paradise planet—they say they have something for everyone!" He looked down at me, the usual twinkle in his eyes aglow.

"Wanna' check it out?" He asked, his voice low and mysterious. I nodded eagerly and bit my lip.

"Thought you'd never ask," I said.

"Whelp, alons-y!" He dragged me through the fields toward the city and I huffed out, "Do you always say that? Alons-y? Let's go?" I asked. He grinned back at me.

"Yep! I love that word, it's the best word! Once I met a guy named Alonso, and I got to say Alons-y, Alonso. It was brilliant! Love that guy."

The Doctor suddenly gave me an odd look.

"You know French?" He asked curiously. I blinked at him.

"No. You told me it meant 'let's go' the first time you met me. Remember?" He nodded.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, forgot. I can't believe you remember that! What was it, for you I mean? Ten years?"

"Twelve." I mumbled. If he heard me, he didn't respond. We'd arrived.

We walked through the gleaming silver streets and I looked down. I could see our reflections. I smiled giddily and observed shops on the corners, calling out for everyone's attention. I rushed over to one of them to check out what they had. I swear my eyes were never wider.

There were little black stones that hummed songs I'd never heard, books that wrote themselves, lights made out of fragments of exploding stars. It was all I could do not to buy something, but I didn't know anything about currency on other planets. Did they even take Earth Cash? I'd have to ask the Doctor.

I looked up and saw him beckoning me over to the front of an enormous building. It was as big as the Statue of Liberty, but about as wide as two football stadiums.

"What's this place?" I asked. His eyes twinkled again.

"Earth would call it a Casino, but it's really more like an indoor amusement park." He replied. "They have everything. I know 'cause I was here 300 years ago, Cheftra time, and that was a brilliant age! They had all these new additions. Had to be careful, I almost didn't want to leave," The Doctor winked. I eyed him suspiciously.

"So you thought you'd bring me? A kid who doesn't have a clue about the wonders of the universe and you decide to just bring me to the one place _you _almost didn't want to leave."

"Aw, don't worry about it! I'll drag you away if I must." I smacked his arm.

"Don't say stuff like that. It'll jinx it." I replied.

"Well then, let's hurry up!" We walked inside and I lost my breath for what felt like the hundredth time already. It was incredible. I didn't even know how to describe anything. The walls were made of sound-proof glass. Inside each glass room were hundreds of people, each playing games I'd never seen before. I couldn't even figure out what they were doing. I swallowed when I realized that 90% of them didn't look human. I looked at the Doctor and he smirked.

"What, you didn't expect the entire universe to look human, did you?" I narrowed my eyes.

"You look human." I pointed out.

"Nooo, you look Time Lord. We came first." He argued sternly.

"_We_?" I asked. "There are more of you?"

The Doctor suddenly halted and stared off into space. I watched him carefully. He looked distant… and almost… sad. No, sad was an understatement. He looked defeated.

"No. I'm the only one." He said. And then suddenly, that smile was back, but this time it looked fake.

"Come on, you should see the _fireworks _level! It's spectacular, I heard—"

"Doctor," I asked, not meaning to interrupt. But I couldn't hold my curiousity. "What happened to the others? You said it like there used to be." His smile disappeared again and he sighed, his hands disappearing into his pockets.

"They died. They're all dead. I'm the last one."

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely. He shuffled his shoes.

"As am I."

We stood in silence, surrounded by aliens who went on oblivious to the tension existing out in the hallways. I had to fix this. I didn't want to hurt him. But I figured if I'd be traveling, I may as well know the stranger I was stuck with. Now I just had to figure out how to make him feel better. Then it occurred to me.

"So, fireworks! You said they were spectacular. You better be right, or so help me…" And then his smile was back, real this time.

"Right! Just _wait _till you see them!"

He grabbed my hand and practically dragged me over to what looked like a see through elevator. He babbled on about fireworks, and virtual realities, and other nonsense. I listened quietly, my thoughts wondering.

This was all so overwhelming. Aliens. New Planet. Indoor fireworks. Pink trees. And I was standing next to an alien who looked like a human, or however I was supposed to put it. And he was the only one of his kind. The others are dead. I felt my throat tense.

What would that be like? What if I was the last human in existence? If every single one of the people I've ever known had died, all my family, all the people I worked with, all those children I'd watch every day, and Mabry. All of it. Gone forever. I felt my chest constrict and it suddenly felt hard to breath. It was the most horrifying, empty feeling I'd ever experienced. And that was just from my imagination.

As the elevator doors opened I wondered what happened to them. The other Time Lords. How did they die? What on earth—wow that term seemed strange now—could warrant the death of an entire alien race? As he walked just ahead of me, I watched him carefully. He seemed so carefree. So upbeat. But from just a few minutes ago, I knew it was still hurting him. And I couldn't blame him. I doubted something like that would ever go away.

I bit my tongue and refrained from asking. I didn't know how he would respond to me asking about their deaths. I wasn't sure I wanted to find out yet.

**~((~^*^~))~**

A/N: Please review! I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I hope you guys like it. I'll update when I can! Finals are this Thursday and Friday for me, and then I should be updating a lot more often. :) Thank you! And seriously, please review and let me know what you think.


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